Although critics have argued that allowing the two carriers to join forces would reduce competition in the industry, Pai contends that the deal would help promote competition, expedite the nationwide deployment of 5G, and help shrink the digital divide.

“After one of the most exhaustive merger reviews in Commission history, the evidence concl...

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Fourteen percent of the world's cell phone users report that they have stopped in the middle of a sex act to answer a ringing wireless device

04/11/2005 | ConsumerAffairs

By Unknown Author

Fourteen percent of the world's cell phone users report that they have stopped in the middle of a sex act to answer a ringing wireless device, Ad Age reported.

The highest incidence of cellular interruptus was found in Germany and Spain, where 22 percent of users interrupted sex to answer their cell phones; the lowest was in Italy, where only 7 percent reported doing so. In the U.S., the figure was 15 percent, the magazine said, citing a study conducted by BBDO World...

Security expert calls it a 'nightmare' for corporate networks

Sometimes it can be risky mixing business and pleasure. The International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers (IAITAM) is warning businesses such a risk could occur if employees download the insanely popular Pokemon Go app on company-owned devices.

The association has recommended corporations prohibit the installation and use of Pokemon Go on any devices used for business purposes. The group says that includes "bring your own device" (BYOD) phones/tablets with direct access to sensitive corporate information and accounts.

AITAM CEO Dr. Barbara Rembiesa goes so far as to call the new augmented reality game a “nightmare” for firms trying to keep their email and cloud-based information secure.

“Even with the enormous popularity of this gaming app, there are just too many questions and too many risks involved for responsible corporations to allow the game to be used on corporate-owned or BYOD devices,” Rembiesa said. “We already have real security concerns and expect them to become much more severe in the coming weeks.”

She said to be safe, organizations must keep the app off any device the connects to the organization's network. Here are her concerns:

Data breaches

Rembiesa says the original user agreements for the game allowed Niantic to access each user's entire Google profile, including his or her history, past searches, and anything else associated with a Google Login ID.

That is no longer the case in current versions, but Rembiesa says this meets the definition of a data breach for corporate-owned devices. It's also not clear to what extent data breaches took place before the change and what happened to the accessed information.

Risky knockoffs

Rembiesa says she has seen reports that some versions of the app that are on non-official download sites may include malware. The illicit software may allow cyber-criminals to take control of an infected phone or tablet.

Rembiesa worries that unsophisticated users might not be aware of the risks inherent in downloading from any third party provider, especially if the device is used on a corporate network. She says Proofpoint, an online security provider, has already reported knockoff Android copies of Pokémon Go in the wild containing a remote controlled tool (RAT) called DroidJack.

Encouraging bad behavior

Making an exception and allowing the use of a game app on a corporate-owned device sets a bad precedent, Rembiesa argues. She says employees need to understand the importance of sticking with approved software.

Despite its popularity, she says Pokemon Go must be considered a "rogue download," which is “any software program downloaded onto a device that circumvents the typical purchasing and installation channels of the organization.”

Sometimes it can be risky mixing business and pleasure. The International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers (IAITAM) is warning businesses such a risk could occur if employees download the insanely popular Pokemon Go app on company-owned devices.

The association has recommended corporations prohibit the installation and use of Pokemon Go on any devices used for business purposes. The group says that includes "bring your own device" (BYOD) phones/tablet...

It was 20 years ago that AT&T crossed paths with Judge Greene

It was 20 years ago that AT&T, the once-mighty "Ma Bell," was broken up on the order of Judge Harold H. Greene of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Since the break-up, consumers have had a staggering array of choices for local and long-distance phone service, they've been able to buy their own telephones, hook up fax machines, modems and other devices and they've been presented with a multitude of new services, including cellular service, DSL and even Intern...

It's a news version of Pandora

Pandora was one of the first music apps to allow you to create your own radio station, simply by selecting an artist, song or genre of music. It has had many imitators since, most recently Apple Music.

Meep is an app following in Pandora's footsteps, but with one huge difference. Instead of music, the iPhone app creates a radio station delivering news about a user's particular interests.

Meep launched this week for iOS with an Android version soon to follow.

Personal stations

According to the creators, the app instantly creates personal stations that play the latest audio stories about topics that users choose. There might also be short clips of ancillary content like music and local weather thrown in for good measure.

The app's developers make it sound simple. Users just pick a subject and start listening, without having to dig through podcasts or blog posts. Once a user skips a story, Meep makes a note of that – just like Pandora – and doesn't offer content along that subject line again.

Meep also has a feature to allow users to record their own content, in the form of short comments about a particular story. These short audio bites are then shared among friends.

Content you don't have to look at

"Meep selects and plays content you're passionate about while you're running, driving, or simply can't look down at your phone," said Mark DiPaola, founder and CEO of Meep. "Now you can use your commute to keep up with your favorite technologies, celebrities, sports teams, companies, cities, and over a million other topics. Want a station dedicated to Asteroids and Alpacas? Presto! We won't even ask why."

Meep is currently lining up a stable of news-readers, who will turn web-based text articles into audio content. If you're interested in trying out, click here. We have no idea what they pay.

Meep is also trying to line up publishers, who would like their content turned into audio. However, print copy is seldom written to be spoken. Radio copy is written for the ear – at least, once upon a time it was.

The Internet is the perfect laboratory for bold and creative ideas. That said, this new app will face some pretty stiff competition.

There are plenty of actual radio stations and thousands of podcasts available from apps like TuneIn and IheartRadio. The most listened-to podcast in the country is This American Life, a compelling NPR show with a talented staff that excels at the art of storytelling.

Pandora was one of the first music apps to allow you to create your own radio station, simply by selecting an artist, song or genre of music. It has had many imitators since, most recently Apple Music.

Meep is an app following in Pandora's footsteps, but with one huge difference. Instead of music, the iPhone app creates a radio station delivering news about a user's particular interests.

Meep launched this week for iOS with an Android version soon to follow.

The No iOS Zone lets attackers remotely crash any iPhone or iPad in wi-fi range

Another danger of automatically connecting to public wi-fi

04/22/2015 | ConsumerAffairs

By Jennifer Abel

Another day brings another way hackers can wreak havoc on your life, this time for owners of Apple devices: security researchers from Skycure have discovered a vulnerability they call the “No iOS Zone,” which effectively lets attackers crash any mobile iOS device connected to a wi-fi hotspot.

Actually, it's even worse that: You don't have to actively connect your device to a hotspot in order to be at risk. No iOS Zone lets attackers crash your device if you are so much as in range of a hotspot, unless you've completely turned off the device (or at least its wi-fi).

Yet in a way this is not entirely surprising — and Apple devices aren't the only ones at risk from public wi-fi.

Last summer, for example, Ars Technica tried a little experiment and discovered that millions of customers of both Comcast and AT&T; were at risk of letting hackers surreptitiously get into their devices' Internet traffic and steal all sorts of personal data, because those two companies' hotspots proved particularly easy for hackers to “spoof” (which is hackerspeak for “impersonate”).

Simple explanation

Here's a very oversimplified explanation of why: Unless you specifically turn off that feature, or your device itself, your smartphone, tablet or other connectable device is always looking to connect with a familiar network.

Let's say you visited Starbucks to take advantage of their free w-fi. Now, every time you go there your phone automatically sends out a signal, basically saying “Hey, Starbucks w-fi, where are you?” and waiting for the electronic response “Here I am! Starbucks wi-fi, now connecting with you.”

But it's very easy for anyone to set up a wireless hotspot to respond under a false name: “Here I am, Starbucks wi-fi! Actually I'm a hacker up to no good, but I said my name is 'Starbucks w-fi' so I can connect with you.”

To guard against that particular danger, you must shut off the wi-fi connections on your mobile devices when you're not using them, and set each device so that it must ask before joining a mobile network.

Endless reboot

The “No iOS Zone” vulnerability is similar, except instead of letting hackers use wi-fi hotspots to spy on various iDevices, it “only” gives hackers the ability to make those devices crash and go into an endless reboot loop. And once that happens, you can't turn off your wi-fi connection and regain control since, of course, your device has to be booted up before you can change its wi-fi settings or do anything else with it.

The Skycure researchers presented their findings (available here in .pdf form) at today's RSA Conference (an annual cryptography and information-security conference held in San Francisco).

The researchers named this vulnerability the “No iOS Zone” because once attackers set up a malicious wi-fi network, any iOS mobile device within range of it would connect, get stuck in an endless reboot loop and thus be rendered useless, resulting in a literal no-iOS zone.

Skycure's presentation also offered a list of “potential areas that may be attractive for attackers,” which includes “political events, economical & business events, Wall Street [and] governmental and military facilities.”

Apple is currently working with Skycure to develop a fix for this problem. Meanwhile, iOwners should keep their wi-fi turned off unless and until they actually plan to use it, and be extra-wary of any public wi-fi hotspot – which, come to think of it, is good advice regarding any mobile device, regardless of who manufactured it.

Another day brings another way hackers can wreak havoc on your life, this time for owners of Apple devices: security researchers from Skycure have discovered a vulnerability they call the “No iOS Zone,” which effectively lets attackers crash any mobile iOS device connected to a wi-fi hotspot.

Actually, it's even worse that: You don't have to actively connect your device to a hotspot in order to be at risk. No iOS Zone lets attackers crash your device if you are so much a...

As long as there have been cellphones, there have been complaints about cellphones’ short battery life. Not only do batteries never seem to last long enough, they invariably die in the middle of an important call.

Researchers at Ohio State University are riding to the rescue. They are announcing a technology they claim will extend your battery life by 30%.

You don’t have to buy a new battery and you don’t need a special kind of cellphone. With modifications, their invention is said to work with any device.

Harnessing radio signals

It works like this: special circuity converts some of the radio signals produced by the device into direct current (DC) power which is routed back to the battery to recharge it. The researchers say the new technology can be built into a cell phone case, without adding more than a small amount of bulk and weight.

“When we communicate with a cell tower or Wi-Fi router, so much energy goes to waste,” said Chi-Chih Chen, research associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and one of the inventors. “We recycle some of that wasted energy back into the battery.”

The inventors who came up with this system are all researchers at Ohio State. They’re now working with a spin-off company to fine-tune the technology and will launch a Kickstarter campaign in June to bring the idea to market.

Not a new idea

This isn’t necessarily a new idea. There are already some products that capture stray radio signals to charge tiny devices like temperature sensors. But it hasn’t been tried on this scale before, and not to charge a common consumer product like a cellphone.

And there are other differences. For one, the cellphone charger is working with considerably more power.

“These other devices are trying to harvest little bits of energy from the air,” said Robert Lee, professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Our technology is based on harvesting energy directly from the source. They can capture microwatts or even nanowatts, but cell phones need milliwatts or higher.”

Lee estimates that nearly 97% of cellphone signals never get to their destination and are simply lost. While not all can be recaptured, some can.

Battery extender

He says the objective is to reduce power consumption by retrieving some of that lost power. Rather than call the technology a battery charger, Lee prefers to think of it as a battery “extender.”

The inventors actually look at their technology as something based on a fairly simple principal, something they should have thought of a long time ago. The basic technology is almost as old as commercial electricity. It relies on the fact that radio waves are actually just a very high-frequency form of electric current.

If you are not using the phone for voice or data – instead, playing a game or listening to downloaded music – the new technology won’t be of any help. The phone needs to be transmitting through the airwaves for the technology to work.

But that’s exactly how most people, in fact, use their phones. Chen and his colleagues believe their as-yet unnamed technology will soon be an indispensable part of everyone’s cellphone, reducing the number of complaints about short battery life.

As long as there have been cellphones, there have been complaints about cellphones’ short battery life. Not only do batteries never seem to last long enough, they invariably die in the middle of an important call.

Researchers at Ohio State University are riding to the rescue. They are announcing a technology they claim will extend your battery life by 30%.

You don’t have to buy a new battery and you don’t need a special kind of cellphone. With modifications, their inventio...

Security firm warns new generation of malware almost impossible to remove

When you download a popular app to your Android smartphone, make sure you know the source.

Lookout, a mobile security firm, has found widespread examples of extremely dangerous adware getting onto consumers' phones when they download what they believe is a legitimate app.

Lookout says there are a number of things that make this development worrisome. First, this new generation of malware roots the device when the user installs it, making it, for all intents, a system application.

“Adware, which has traditionally been used to aggressively push ads, is now becoming trojanized and sophisticated,” Lookout's Michael Bentley writes in the company blog. “This is a new trend for adware and an alarming one at that.”

And it gets worse. Consumers are downloading this dangerous new form of adware because it has been integrated into many legitimate and popular apps, including Candy Crush, Facebook, GoogleNow, NYTimes, Okta, Snapchat, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

Third-party source

Bentley says hackers simply repackage and inject malicious code into these popular applications, and then later publish them to third-party app stores. He says many of these apps are actually fully-functional, providing their usual services, in addition to the malicious code that roots the device. That means the user has no way of knowing his or her device has been compromised.

Lookout says it has found thousands of these trojanized apps in third party app stores. When a consumer downloads one of these hijacked apps, it usually means having to buy a new phone, since the malware often can't be removed.

The company says the developers of apps that have been hijacked are also victims, since their brands may suffer with the spread of the malicious adware.

Meanwhile the danger is likely to increase.

“We expect this class of trojanized adware to continue gaining sophistication over time, leveraging its root privilege to further exploit user devices, allow additional malware to gain read or write privileges in the system directory, and better hide evidence of its presence and activities,” Bentley concludes.

When you download a popular app to your Android smartphone, make sure you know the source.

Lookout, a mobile security firm, has found widespread examples of extremely dangerous adware getting onto consumers' phones when they download what they believe is a legitimate app.

Lookout says there are a number of things that make this development worrisome. First, this new generation of malware roots the device when the user installs it, making it, for all intents, a system appl...

Internet advertising is both a curse and a blessing. It's frequently an annoyance to consumers, who complain about ads popping up all over their favorite sites. But it's also a blessing in that it pays the bills to support those sites, which would most likely not exist without the revenue from ads.

One solution a lot of consumers have adopted is ad-blocking. A simple app or browser extension is all that's needed to block most ads from appearing on your smartphone or laptop. But ad-blocking, if it becomes widespread, threatens to kill free content on the web.

Brendan Eich wants to change all that. He sees a brave new world that uses his new browser, called Brave. It blocks "regular" ads and inserts its own ads, funneling revenue from those ads both to the website that's being viewed and to the consumer who's doing the viewing.

It's a guilt-free way to block ads, in other words.

Not born yesterday

Will it work?

Well, it might. Eich was not exactly born yesterday. Though not a household name, he is nevertheless a notable figure in the software biz. He's one of the major backers of Mozilla, which makes a pretty good browser of its own. He also invented the JavaScript programming language that runs pretty much everything on the Web today.

With his tiny, 10-person start-up in San Francisco, Eich is setting off to change the world by improving privacy protection, building a faster browser, and blocking those nasty ads.

It's not just intrusive ads Eich is out to eliminate but also the tracking that underlies today's advertising infrastructure. When you see an ad for running shoes, chances are it's because you have conducted searches for running shoes, purchased running shoes, or frequented websites that deal with fitness and sports.

Lots of people hate being stalked by marketers in that way. If Eich has his way, it won't happen anymore. His ads won't be based on personal profiles, he says.

"We have to disconnect the bad system. I talk about putting chlorine in the pool," he said, according to CNET.

Eich also promises his browser will be faster -- up to four times faster than other smartphone browsers and 1.4 times faster than other laptop browsers.

A pre-release version of Brave is making the rounds today. When a public version is ready, Eich promises it will work on all major operating systems.

Whether publishers, advertisers, and consumers will get on board is the big question. The advertising industry is concerned by the growth of ad-blocking and is openly looking for new models. Many publishers, on the other hand, are relatively happy with the current system, having built their sites around catering to behavioral ads. They may be reluctant to change.

Internet advertising is both a curse and a blessing. It's frequently an annoyance to consumers, who complain about ads popping up all over their favorite sites. But it's also a blessing in that it pays the bills to support those sites, which would most likely not exist without the revenue from ads.

One solution a lot of consumers have adopted is ad-blocking. A simple app or browser extension is all that's needed to block most ads from appearing on your smartphone or lapto...

The White House is throwing $400 million into an effort that's supposed to speed development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G wireless technology, a move some health advocates say is premature and unwise.

The federal dollars will be flowing into something called the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, which is supposed to test and ultimately implement new 5G wireless networking and IoT technologies in the U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week voted to adopt new rules that open up the 24 GHz spectrum for so-called 5G (5th generation) high-speed broadband. When fully deployed, 5G will make the internet about 100 times faster and supposedly enable widespread development of "connected" cars and appliances.

"High-speed, high-capacity, low-latency wireless networks will define our future," Wheeler said at Friday's announcement of the funding for the initiative.

More towers

Because of the extremely high 24 GHz frequencies, the waves emitted by transponders are extremely short and don't travel very far, meaning that there will need to be many more -- though smaller -- cell towers than today.

Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. Richard H. Conrad, a biochemist and consultant, says the White House and FCC are putting the cart before the horse -- deploying new technology without first ensuring that it is safe.

"I am a biochemist with a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins and know without a doubt, from the findings of thousands of research papers published by scientists with independent research funding, that there are many harmful biological effects of non-thermal levels of EMF that are relevant to humans," Conrad said in an open letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Conrad contends that boosters of wireless technology have argued, in effect, that critics must prove the technology is unsafe by showing exactly how it causes harm.

"This is a myth; no one yet knows how smoking causes cancer, or the actual mechanism behind gravity," Conrad said. "Honest and independent research into health effects of 5G is absolutely necessary before actual deployment, and is therefore desirable before 5G system designs and standards have progressed very far."

"Increased productivity"

In a statement, The White House compares the IoT effort to historic breakthroughs achieved by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, and Samuel Morse.

"This effort will help spur innovation in many ways, from pushing the frontiers of tele-medicine through robot-assisted remote surgeries, to testing of autonomous vehicles that talk to each other to keep us safe, to the roll-out of smart manufacturing equipment in factories, to providing more connectivity for more people," administration officials Jason Furman and R. David Edelman said in a blog posting.

"Each one of these innovations has the potential to support increased productivity growth that can put more money in the pocket of American families," said Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Edelman, Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy.

Like the FCC's Wheeler, Furman and Edelman have no training in biological sciences, a sticking point for Conrad.

"Wheeler is a businessman, lobbyist and politician with no training in biological or medical sciences, no understanding of biochemistry or biophysics, no biological research experience, and he listens to advice on biological safety only from scientists who have been bought by industry and tell him what he wants to hear," Conrad said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.

"Wheeler is relying on myths and 'tobacco science' to sweep real science under the carpet, the enormous body of science that shows harmful effects of even low levels of pulsed microwave, yes, non-ionizing, radiation," Conrad said.

The White House is throwing $400 million into an effort that's supposed to speed development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G wireless technology, a move some health advocates say is premature and unwise.

The federal dollars will be flowing into something called the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, which is supposed to test and ultimately implement new 5G wireless networking and IoT technologies in the U.S.

Consumers who own their phone can now move freely among carriers

It's been a long time coming but effective tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, if you own your cell phone outright you can move from one carrier to another.

That sounds pretty simple but it has taken a long time and a lot of wrangling by regulators, wireless carriers and their lobbying organization. There are also lots of conditions that apply.

What do we mean by unlocking? Cell phones and wireless devices like tablets have traditionally been "locked" so that consumers are tied to their carrier for the term of their contract.

But now, if you now have a phone on -- let's say -- the Verizon network, you can switch to AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint or any of a number of others.

That's assuming that you have paid for your phone and fulfilled your contract. Chances are you haven't, since most smartphones -- which cost hundreds of dollars -- are owned by the wireless carrier until you have lived out your contract, typically two or three years long.

There also some plans, like Verizon's Edge, that let you buy your phone on the installment plan. To switch carriers, you must have paid off the full amount due on that plan.

If you haven't met these conditions and are just dying to switch carriers anyway, you will have to pay an early termination fee (ETF), typically a few hundred dollars. (You may want to think twice about this. You don't want to go to a lot of trouble and expense dumping Carrier A only to find that other carriers don't work well in your location either, a not uncommon condition).

It's also possible that you bought an "unlocked" phone, which puts you that much closer to being able to wave good-bye to your current carrier. Many BlackBerry fans, for example, have bought the new Passport and Classic phones outright, since they are not yet being offered by the major carriers.

Next step

So assuming you have met all those conditions mentioned above, what's next? First, make sure your carrier has agreed to the new unlocking rules. This new procedure is not a law, it's just a statement of principles incorporated into the "Consumer Code for Wireless Services" that major carriers have agreed to follow.

Each of these carriers will, if history is any guide, have its own procedures and requirements and will probably try to persuade you to hang around, so the process may vary slightly. You can call the customer service line and take your chances or go to your carrier's website using the links above and carefully read through the posted procedures before taking the next step.

Some carriers may require you to go to one of their stores to have your device unlocked. Others will be able to do it remotely. It may take a day or two, so be patient.

The carriers have agreed not to charge a fee for unlocking.

Prepaid phones are also eligible for unlocking within one year of activation, assuming you have been up to date on payments.

Network types

Nothing is ever simple in the wireless universe and this is no exception. Agreements and regulations aside, there are several different types of wireless networks -- primarily GSM, LTE and CDMA -- and not all devices are compatible with all network types.

Most newer phones will work on the most common networks, with many Sprint phones being the exception.

The app exploits vulnerable children and violates long-standing media practices, the groups charge

Consumer groups are calling for a federal investigation of Google, saying its new YouTube Kids app preys upon children's vulnerability and violates longstanding media practices intended to safeguard children.

“There is nothing 'child friendly' about an app that obliterates long-standing principles designed to protect kids from commercialism,” said Josh Golin, Associate Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, one of the groups filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

“YouTube Kids exploits children’s developmental vulnerabilities by delivering a steady stream of advertising that masquerades as programming," Golin said. "Furthermore, YouTube Kids' advertising policy is incredibly deceptive. To cite just one example, Google claims it doesn't accept food and beverage ads but McDonald's actually has its own channel and the 'content' includes actual Happy Meal commercials.”

Among the specific practices identified in the complaint are:

Intermixing advertising and programming in ways that deceive young children, who, unlike adults, lack the cognitive ability to distinguish between the two;

Featuring numerous “branded channels” for McDonald’s, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and other companies, which are little more than program-length commercials;

Distributing so-called “user-generated” segments that feature toys, candy, and other products without disclosing the business relationships that many of the producers of these videos have with the manufacturers of the products, a likely violation of the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines.

When it launched the YouTube Kids app in February, Google described it as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.”

Safeguards scrapped

But the complaint says Google appears to have ignored not only the scientific research on children’s developmental limitations, but also the well-established system of advertising safeguards that has been in place on both broadcast and cable television for decades.

Those safeguards include

a prohibition against the host of a children’s program from delivering commercial messages;

strict time limits on the amount of advertising any children’s program can include;

the prohibition of program-length commercials; and

the banning of “product placements” or “embedded advertisements.”

Such “blending of children’s programming content with advertising material on television,” the group’s complaint declares, “has long been prohibited because it is unfair and deceptive to children. The fact that children are viewing the videos on a tablet or smart phone screen instead of on a television screen does not make it any less unfair and deceptive.”

"Hyper-commercialized"

“YouTube Kids is the most hyper-commercialized media environment for children I have ever seen,” commented Dale Kunkel, Professor of Communication, University of Arizona. “Many of these advertising tactics are considered illegal on television, and it's sad to see Google trying to get away with using them in digital media.”

Angela J. Campbell of the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law, who serves as counsel to the coalition, called on the FTC to "investigate whether Disney and other marketers are providing secret financial incentives for the creation of videos showing off their products. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides require disclosure of any such relationships so that consumers will not be misled."

Organizations signing the complaint include: the Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children Now, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, and Public Citizen.

Consumer groups are calling for a federal investigation of Google, saying its new YouTube Kids app preys upon children's vulnerability and violates longstanding media practices intended to safeguard children.

“There is nothing 'child friendly' about an app that obliterates long-standing principles designed to protect kids from commercialism,” said Josh Golin, Associate Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, one of the groups fi...

Hard-of-hearing callers were unable to place emergency calls successfully

Sprint and two other companies will pay $1.4 million for failing to properly handle 9-1-1 calls placed by hard-of-hearing callers, the Federal Communications Commission said today.

The FCC said that for periods ranging from five weeks to ten months, Sprint, Hamilton Relay, and InnoCaption were unable to handle the calls and were unaware of it until the FCC investigation.

“All Americans must be able to reach 911 in an emergency,” said Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. "Today's settlements reaffirm our commitment to ensure that the hard of hearing community has essential 911 service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not only are we fining these companies for failing to provide this vital services, but we are assuring that they provide it going forward.”

Relay service

Individuals who can use their own voice but have difficulty hearing utilize a Telephone Relay Service (TRS) called Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) to engage in a telephone conversation using an Internet Protocol-enabled device that allows callers to simultaneously listen while reading captions of what the other party is saying.

Companies that provide IP CTS do not charge consumers for the service, but are instead eligible to receive compensation from the federally-mandated TRS Fund as long as they have complied with the FCC’s TRS Rules and orders.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau and Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau discovered, through test calls made in 2014, that the companies were not able to accept and handle 911 emergency calls made using IP CTS applications, as required by Commission rules governing TRS.

The Bureau also found that the companies submitted inaccurate requests to the TRS Fund administrator for compensation provided to users of IP CTS applications during the period the companies were not in compliance with the emergency call handling rules.

As part of the settlement, the companies have agreed to take actions to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

Sprint and two other companies will pay $1.4 million for failing to properly handle 9-1-1 calls placed by hard-of-hearing callers, the Federal Communications Commission said today.

The FCC said that for periods ranging from five weeks to ten months, Sprint, Hamilton Relay, and InnoCaption were unable to handle the calls and were unaware of it until the FCC investigation.

“All Americans must be able to reach 911 in an emergency,” said Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the Enforceme...

How to tell if your device is controlling you, and how to break free of digital dependency

We’ve all been there: that moment when an instant of boredom becomes twenty minutes of mindlessly toggling back and forth between apps. “This is way better than sitting here doing nothing,” your brain tells you, as you take in yet another photo of your high school friend’s dog.

While these phone-staring sessions are usually nothing more than a time waster, they can easily turn into something more harmful if left unchecked. As technology sinks its roots deeper into our daily lives, digital dependency is becoming more common. For many, device use can spiral into compulsion territory.

So how can you tell if you’re in an unhealthy relationship with your smartphone? You can start by turning it off, says Mariya Shiyko, PhD., an Assistant Professor in Northeastern University’s Department of Applied Psychology.

Take a break

According to Shiyko, an expert on digital detoxes, the best way to tell if you could stand to distance yourself from your device is by turning it off for a few hours.

“See if you can continue engaging with life without constantly thinking about the end of this miserable break, compulsively reaching for your phone or checking the time,” says Shiyko in an interview with ConsumerAffairs. During this break, are you able to function well and enjoy life? If not, then you may be too dependent on your device.

“You know it’s not healthy if you NEED your device,” says Shiyko, adding that if your happiness and well-being become tied up in anything else — whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or your phone — it has become an addiction. Digital addiction is no different from any other forms of addiction, she says.

There’s nothing wrong with a glass of wine just as there’s nothing inherently wrong with technology, explains Shiyko — but with each, there is the potential for misuse.

Detoxing

If you’ve decided to give technology a rest, the next question might be “How?” — especially if you frequently use your device for work purposes. Shiyko says that as with anything else, you can go big or small.

Digital detoxing, she says, is similar to a bodily cleanse in that there are many different routes to take. “A spring cleanse for your body might look like a week on juices and light vegetarian meals or it may be one fasting day per week continuously,” says Shiyko. “Everyone needs to find what works for them.”

She suggests choosing one weekend a month to keep your phone and email locked up. Or you could go smaller by detaching yourself from computers and devices for half a day on a weekend, or simply by turning them off after 8 PM daily.

Instead of being glued to a computer screen or a TV, go outside or make plans to visit your friends or family in person, says Shikyo. In conquering your reliance on technology, you’ll experience benefits similar to those of a person who is mentally healthy — less stress, anxiety, depression, and higher levels of life satisfaction.

“The more mental freedom one has, independently of gadgets or political news,” says Shiyko, "the more one can enjoy meaningful interpersonal interactions, creativity, and multitudes of opportunities that technology enables.”

We’ve all been there: that moment when an instant of boredom becomes twenty minutes of mindlessly toggling back and forth between apps. “This is way better than sitting here doing nothing,” your brain tells you, as you take in yet another photo of your high school friend’s dog.

While these phone-staring sessions are usually nothing more than a time waster, they can easily turn into something more harmful if left unchecked. As technology sinks its roots deeper into our d...

The update allows parents to block apps and internet on a child's device indefinitely or for a set time

Remo MORE, an app that helps parents protect and monitor kids’ online safety, recently announced the addition of an update called “controlled access mode.”

Previously, the app focused on giving family members the ability to control kids’ online activity, maintain devices remotely, monitor device usage, and locate family members. Now, parents and guardians will also be able to block apps and internet usage using the Remo MORE app.

The software company says the feature was frequently requested by parents concerned that their child was spending too much time using devices.

With Remo MORE’s Controlled Access Mode, parents can block installed apps, games, and internet on a child’s devices indefinitely or for a specific amount of time.

Renders kids’ devices useless

The new feature is “like a switch which will turn the device mode from smart to useless,” Omer Faiyaz, CEO of Remo Software, said in a statement.

Other key features of Controlled Access Mode include:

The ability to restrict access to apps and the internet, but allow phone calls to come through. (For Android users.)

The ability to block all third party and browsing apps in iPhone devices, so that only apps supported by Apple (including Facetime and messages) can be accessed.

In Windows PC, Microsoft default apps will be accessible, but internet browsing, Skype, Microsoft messenger and other third party apps will be disabled.

In Mac, internet browsing and third party apps will be disabled. Default Apple apps remain accessible excluding Facetime and messaging apps.

Protecting kids

Research shows that 82% of parents feel guilty about not being around to monitor their child's online activity.

Remo hopes to empower parents to protect kids from the potential dangers of devices and the internet -- and the Remo MORE app is one way to do so.

The app's new Controlled Access Mode aims to help parents address some of the issues surrounding parenting in the age of technology, such as device overuse and keeping kids away from unsafe places on the internet.

Remo MORE, an app that helps parents protect and monitor kids’ online safety, recently announced the addition of an update called “controlled access mode.”

Previously, the app focused on giving family members the ability to control kids’ online activity, maintain devices remotely, monitor device usage, and locate family members. Now, parents and guardians will also be able to block apps and internet usage using the Remo MORE app.

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